Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston was found to be not responsible for violating Florida State’s student conduct code with regards to a December 2012 alleged sexual assault of a female Florida State student, according to multiple reports Sunday.
Florida Supreme Court justice Major Harding made the decision. The school’s investigation concluded Dec. 3, and Harding was retained by FSU to conduct the hearing.
USA Today obtained a copy of the letter Harding wrote to Winston.
It read: “This was a complex case, and I worked hard to make sure both parties had a full and fair opportunity to present information. In sum, the preponderance of the evidence has not shown that you are responsible for any of the charge violations of the Code. Namely, I find that the evidence before me is insufficient to satisfy the burden of proof.”
The woman in question and Winston can appeal the decision, which must be filed within five days.
The state attorney’s office had declined to file criminal charges in December 2013, but under Title IX, Winston still faced a school hearing on code of conduct. The code of conduct decision was based on a preponderance of evidence, which is a lower standard than a criminal court requires.
According to the USA Today report, Harding noted in his decision that the woman in question did not seek help from anyone outside the bar where she met Winston on Dec. 7, 2012, or during the cab ride with two other football players to Winston’s apartment.
Harding wrote that the statements provided by those two teammates, Chris Casher and Ronald Darby, were consistent with Winston’s account, which claimed the encounter was consensual.
Florida State is still under investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which opened an inquiry into the school’s handling of sexual violence and compliance with Title IX.
So Winston, who did not face prosecution in the wake of sexual assault accusations in 2012, will also be spared any discipline from Florida State.
“I did not rape or sexually assault [the woman],” Winston said in the statement early this month. “I did not create a hostile, intimidating or offensive environment in the short period of time that we were together. [She] had the capacity to consent to having sex with me and she repeatedly did so by her conduct and her verbal expressions.
“I never used physical violence, threats, or other coercive means towards (her). Finally, I never endangered [her] health, safety or well-being.”
John Clune, the accuser’s attorney, responded to Winston’s statement, telling ESPN that “this is not testimony but just something obviously written by his lawyer.”
Clune and the accuser still have the option of bringing civil charges against Winston.